Why Relationships Are Important

   

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Topics Covered in This Chapter

Why Relationships Are Important

Types of Relationships

Identifying Existing Relationships

Establishing Each Relationship

Refining All Foreign Keys

Establishing Relationship Characteristics

Relationship-Level Integrity

Case Study

Summary

Review Questions

You learned in Chapter 3 that a relationship exists between two tables when you can in some way associate the records of the first table with those of the second. You also learned that each relationship has three distinct characteristics: the type of relationship that exists between the tables, the manner in which each participates, and the degree to which each table participates.

In this chapter, I'll discuss these topics in more detail. You'll first learn how to identify and establish the relationships between the tables in a database and then how to set each relationship's characteristics. You'll also learn how to diagram tables and relationships, which will enable you to create a graphic representation of the entire database structure.

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